Dreaming of Mass Behaviour

By Robert van Rixtel27-09-2017

One Week About Graphic Matters by curator Graphic Matters

Since 2005 Studio Smack (Ton Meijdam, Thoms Snels en Béla Zsigmond) creates Design for Debate; quirky, critical animations on their own initiative or for clients with heart. They hold up a mirror to their audience by translating iconic images from today’s popculture into their own designs.

During their first years, their work method forced them to come up with smart solutions. Acting themselves, DIY motion tracking suits, voice-overs cut from documentaries and soundtracks played (and sung) by themselves made Studio Smack one of the leading studios in the Netherlands. The 2015 music video Witch Doctor for the Dutch band De Staat has led to their international breakthrough.

Dreaming of Mass Behaviour shows the rise of Studio Smack by means of several visionary animations. For example, in ‘Bigger, Better’ (2003) they predicted the current political situation in the US and they visualised the surveillance state, even before cameras were visibly present on the streets. How long will it take before ‘Branded Dreams’ become a reality?